Kings Birthday

Australians celebrate the King’s Birthday (previously known as the Queen’s Birthday holiday) with a public holiday (and long weekend) on Monday, June 9th, 2025.

Even though some shops and businesses will have limited trading hours, there are plenty of things to see and do over the King’s Birthday weekend.

An interesting fact is that King Charles’ birthday is in November; however, the celebration is in June. The reason for this is twofold: The holiday was originally a celebration of ‘the monarch’s birthday’, which at the time was King George III, who had his birthday on the 4th of June. Once Charles became the monarch, it was decided to leave the celebration in June as it more evenly spaced out the public holidays throughout the year and kept the celebration in the warm English summer.

In Australia, the King’s Birthday occurs at the start of the winter season, but many events are still scheduled over the long weekend, and many attractions remain open, even on Monday, a public holiday.

The launch of the Victorian snow season occurs over the King’s Birthday weekend, so gather your friends and head out to one of Victoria’s seven alpine resorts.

Even though some smaller shops will close on the public holiday, most supermarkets and shopping centres are open on the King’s Birthday. Movie theatres, restaurants, petrol stations, and many attractions in Melbourne, such as the Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne Museum, and the Melbourne Skydeck, remain open.